Are you using
salary increases to your advantage?
Canadian employers are predicting the highest
salary increase in two decades in 2023, fuelled by
a tight labour market, high employment levels and
red-hot inflation. According to a report by Robert Half, more than half of professionals feel underpaid and
34 per cent plan to ask for a raise if they’re offered too little or nothing at all. In Ontario, salary expectations received a further boost when the court struck down Bill 124, which sought to restrain wages in the broader public sector.
Dust off your employment contracts and clarify language
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Salary increases
If you’re an employer with one or more non-unionized employees a raise is the perfect time to:
pledging a commitment to net zero.*
André Royer
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Bill 124: Wage-cap legislation declared unconstitutional
by Ontario Superior Court
Legal implications of the hybrid
work model
Labour and employment law
in Canada
ARoyer@blg.com
T 514.954.3124
Partner
JFantini@blg.com
T 604.640.4247
Partner
Jennifer Fantini
JFu@blg.com
T 416.367.6513
Partner
James Fu
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But the benefits of a pay increase go beyond simply retaining your top talent.
Going forward, use your annual performance review cycle as a reminder to review your employment contracts. Regular review is a good habit to cultivate, given increasing scrutiny of employment contracts by the courts and continual changes in employment statutes.
Projected
average pay
adjustment
When you offer the raise, link it to a requirement for employees to sign appropriately-drafted amendments as a condition of the raise. It will help you manage risk at the same time as providing your employees a pay raise — a case of win-win!
Refresh your terms and conditions
Define your
work-from-home expectations
Review termination provisions and restrictive covenants
Standardize
your employee handbook or policies
4.2
%
Number of
respondents
still undecided
44
%
Have provided
off-cycle
increases
33
%
Source: Eckler’s 2023 Compensation Planning Survey Report
Canadian organizations on salary increases (Aug. 2022)